LETTER: Alabama needs minimum wage law

Sunday

Feb 16, 2014 at 4:00 PMFeb 16, 2014 at 4:18 PM

G.C. SkipperTuscaloosa

Dear Editor: In the Feb. 9 edition of The Tuscaloosa News, a report out of Montgomery noted that Alabama is one of only five states that does not have a minimum wage law. That doesn’t breed a whole lot of confidence in the good intentions of state government.Nevertheless, the bill that now has been introduced in the state Legislature appears to be a step in the right direction, despite the old saying about appearances. The article goes on to indirectly quote Gov. Robert Bentley as saying he had rather bring in more high-paying jobs than raise the minimum wage. What does that have to do with anything? It’s apples and oranges, to be polite. Common sense — a valuable trait often missing in our esteemed elected officials — tells most people that not everyone, including some minimum wage earners, has the qualifications necessary to fill those “high-paying jobs.”Sure, I could make more money as a lawyer or brain surgeon or maybe any kind of a doctor, but it ain’t gonna happen. Until the GOP gets its collective heads out of the sand and reconnects with voters who put them in office, it might be better to wait and hope that Alabama joins other states in the sluggish ascent of the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour to $9.80 by 2016.